Providing perspective for today’s technology leaders
The Enderle Group provides an unparalleled look inside breaking technology events to identify the core reasons that buyers and builders of technology should care.
Rob’s IT Business Edge Blog
- How Women in Tech Leadership Hold Each Other Back A few weeks back, I was at a retreat made up of a bunch of handpicked influencers, all of whom had one common goal: We wanted to change the world (preferably for the better). While the group was better than 90 percent white guys, there were a number of women who really wanted us to focus on the glass ceiling and how women are typically underpaid for similar jobs. A few were pretty outspoken about how unfair things were and what jerks men, as a group, were. Once again, the group they were complaining to was made up of 90 percent white guys.
- BlackBerry: We’re Back! May 14 This week I’m at BlackBerry Live, formally known as BlackBerry World. A year ago at this same event, a lot of folks thought it was the swan song for the company. They clearly were wrong. This is one of the largest events of its type so far this year and the excitement going into the keynote was almost in line with an Apple event with one difference: This product is clearly about business. This is where smartphones started; for some strange reason the company took a hard turn towards entertainment. But BlackBerry’s clear plan it to angle it back and its differentiating strategy is productivity, security and speed. BlackBerry has come up with an elegant product design similar to, in the Z10, the iPhone, but key differences in ports and access that make the product more flexible, and the Q10 returning to the firm’s roots with a keyboard. It is interesting to note that the Q10 has evidently been sold out since release. Since I’m writing this during the opening CEO keynote, I’ll cover that and give you a sense of what it was like to be here.
- An Unusual Collection of Powerful Best Practices at EMC World May 8 I’m wrapping up at EMC World today and I’ve enjoyed a variety of talks and one-on-one meetings. What hits me as I ramp out of the show is how many impressive and unique best practices are showcased at this event this year. I can’t recall another event or another company that has showcased this amount of good work at one event as long as I’ve been covering tech, and I’ve been covering tech since the mid-90s.
Rob’s Articles
- Will BlackBerry, Nokia or Amazon Replace Apple or Google? TechNewsWorld | May 18 With Apple stumbling and Google and Samsung possibly on the outs, there may be an opening in the mobile market for an underdog to make a big move. BlackBerry may have the best shot with its strength among businesses in emerging markets, but Nokia is gaining some traction, and Microsoft has deep pockets. Then there's Amazon, which could corner the phablet market. It's anyone's game.
- Connected cars are the next mobile frontier, and BlackBerry has a head start Digital Trends | May 18 I attended the annual BlackBerry conference this week, and had a nice chat with the folks that make their QNX operating system. In case you don’t remember, BlackBerry acquired QNX back in 2010 and went on to use the software in its ill-fated PlayBook tablet, and new phones. Interestingly enough, it also ended up in cars. Over the last few years, QNX has been slowly displacing Windows CE to become the dominant platform in connected cars. There are a number of reasons for this shift, but the biggest seems to be that car makers apparently don’t want to run Windows 8 embedded in their cars. This promises an interesting future, because the QNX developers understand that the future is highly mobile, and that bringing the desktop experience to a mobile platform is pretty much a non-starter.
- Why a BlackBerry Is Better Than an iPhone CIO | May 17 The BlackBerry has always been a business phone. The iPhone wowed us all--and it nearly put BlackBerry out of business--but it emphasizes entertainment and not productivity. If you're an IT executive, it's finally time to put function before form, CIO.com columnist Rob Enderle writes.
- The fall of Apple and rise of Blackberry - what comes around goes around TG Daily | May 17 Blackberry was the most powerful smartphone vendor just a short decade ago. Indeed, the corporation managed to translate its massively successful two-way pager business into what was ultimately dubbed the Crackberry, simply because people were so addicted to them. As you may recall, Apple was finishing a turnaround, just short of reaching true success with the iPod, while working on the disastrous ROKR phone with Motorola, a device that both companies would rather forget.
Rob Quoted
- Digital players fight for music domination The National | May 19
- Google Glass Raises Congressional Privacy Concerns Sci-Tech Today | May 17
- Cisco's Data Center Sales Spark Q1 Earnings E-Commerce Times | May 16
Rob Enderle on…
The impact of Apple’s earnings on its suppliers
“Suppliers are likely moving on the positive surprise in Apple's top line - but the company's outlook was dismal and that would put pressure on the suppliers.”
HP and its poor performance
“They are hurting in PCs, and they are really hurting in printing and imaging. That business is kind of going away.”
SV 150: HP drags down its tech sector San Jose Mercury News
How consumers will benefit from poor PC sales
“They'll have to get aggressive on prices or give rebates to move inventory, and the savings will be passed through to the consumer. Some units will be shipped overseas, but here they're going to have to blow out inventory in the next three months.”
PC industry sees worst sales quarter in nearly 20 years San Jose Mercury News
HTC’s alliance with Facebook
“It is not so much a Facebook phone as imagined by Zuckerberg as it is a lifeline for HTC, which needs a champion device and got Facebook to back it. The market has been gravitating toward Samsung. This device is to take the emphasis back to HTC … with a flagship phone that users can get excited about.”
Facebook unveils its 'home' on Android phone New York Times
If Michael Dell walked away from a possible buyout offer from the Blackstone Group
“By cashing out, he'd take the value of the stock down sharply and damage Blackstone and the investors that remained significantly.… He wants to assure that Blackstone can't replace him as CEO.… Either they do it with him or they don't do it.”
Michael Dell Goes Into Safe Mode E-Commerce Times
Apollo Research Rob Enderle the most quoted technology analyst in the U.S. in January 2012
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Profiles
Rob Enderle
An Internet search of media quotes validates Rob Enderle as one of the most influential technology pundits in the world. Leveraging world-class IT industry analysis skills honed at DataQuest, Giga Information Group, and Forrester Research, Rob seized upon the power of the information channel as a conduit to reach business strategists and deliver valuable, experienced-based insight on how to leverage industry advances for maximum business advantage.
As President and Principal Analyst of the Enderle Group, he provides regional and global companies with guidance in how to create credible dialogue with the market, target customer needs, create new business opportunities, anticipate technology changes, select vendors and products, and practice zero dollar marketing. For over 20 years Rob has worked for and with companies like Microsoft, HP, IBM, Dell, Toshiba, Gateway, Sony, USAA, Texas Instruments, AMD, Intel, Credit Suisse First Boston, ROLM, and Siemens.
Mary Enderle
As Enderle Group’s Branding and Web Design Consultant, Mary brings a depth of knowledge regarding brand-driven design, creation of brand management tools, creative direction and agency management. Mary was the worldwide corporate brand identity manager at Intel® Corporation, one of the top ten brands in the world. Under Mary’s leadership, her team was responsible for ensuring that all communications were consistent and reflected Intel’s values, to make sure that Intel would continue to rank among the top ten recognized brands worldwide. Mary also spent nine years managing the look and feel for Intel.com, consulting across many divisions on both creative and site usability.
After leaving Intel, Mary consulted with top tier companies on branding and web design including Dolby Laboratories, Gateway Computers, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel and Kodak Gallery.
Mary was the Brand Director and Affiliate Manager for CafeGive® for 1½ years, a startup that is focused on building a thriving community of nonprofit organizations and their advocates consumers and merchants dedicated to grassroots fundraising through ecommerce. There are now over 300 stores to shop at on the CafeGive website like Nordstrom, Target, Macy’s and some great niche merchants specially selected to work with CafeGive. There are also over 140 nonprofits working closely with their advocates and CafeGive to help get the word out to shop and raise money for some wonderful organizations.